Our New Novel Has Just Been Released!

Available on Amazon, GOING UP is a work of fiction, but it’s based on the lessons of my own Divorce Over 50, the research I’ve done for this site, and the many other DO50’s I’ve connected with.

It’s a fun, easy read, following the lives of six divorced people in their fifties, each moving toward their better future, but traveling at different speeds and hitting different pot holes.

Beyond their relationship status, they deal with other pressures we know so well, like hanging onto or starting a new career, caring for elderly parents, getting kids launched, and the health issues we see crop up.

Please check it out here.

Think Positive to Fight Divorce Shame

Did you feel shame about getting Divorced?

Did you blame yourself and/or your ex, wallowing in negativity that builds upon itself, feeling depressed, angry, and resentful?

Or, did you accept that you may have made some bad choices, but you’re a good person, who will move forward with a  positive mindset? 

What’s on Your Post Divorce Bucket List?

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Did you make a Bucket List after your Divorce?

That probably wasn’t a priority during the early, Survive Phase of your process. But as you began (or will begin) to Revive, creating a Bucket List could be an important, and valuable, exercise. Just the act of looking forward to a brighter future, and setting some goals within that future, could help you Thrive sooner. Even if you eventually only check off a few of the goals, you’ll still be so much better off.

Gray Divorce Gets The N.P.R. Treatment

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Susan Brown co-wrote a very influential academic paper about Divorce Over 50 entitled “The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-Aged and Older Adults, 1990-2-10.” You can read it here.

If you’re not into dry, dense documents that include phrases like “The present study also attends to heterogeneity in the divorce experience of today’s middle- aged and older adults by estimating divorce rates across sociodemographic subgroups and examining key correlates of divorce,” maybe you’d like to listen to Dr. Brown in this interview with NPR. (There’s also a transcript of the interview if you’d prefer to read it). 

Learn From the Experiences of Other DO50’s!

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Our collection of interviews, Gray Divorce Stories: The Truth About Getting Divorced Over 50 From Men and Women Who’ve Done it, is available on Amazon.

In the book, you’ll find 18 candid interviews in which other Divorced Over 50’s speak openly about their marriages, their divorces, and their recoveries.

If you’re going through a DO50, you’ll see that your feelings are not unique. You’ll be able to learn from the experiences of others — their successes and their failures. And you’ll see that many of them have made it through the difficulties and pain, and are now moving forward into their brighter future.

And if you’re Di-Curious, these stories can provide a wealth of information to help you make your huge decision: Will I be better off if I get out?

More information on the book is available here.

Divorced Over 50 Meets 2ndAct.tv

do50-2ndact-tvI recently did a series of interviews with Silke Schwarzkopf, the Executive Producer of 2ndAct.tv.  Silke’s site contains a ton of videos that will be of tremendous interest to Divorced Over 50 users. I encourage you to explore 2ndAct.tv, and benefit from the important content you’ll find there.

In the videos offered here, we discuss such topics as the genesis of DivorcedOver50.com, how common Divorce is among our age group, and some of the warning signs that a DO50 may be coming up.

Click Read More to watch the interviews.

5 Pre-Marital Tips From a Divorced Parent

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As parents, we all want to set good examples for our children. If, for instance, they see us treating everyone we encounter with respect, chances are good they’ll do the same. Personally, I’m always gratified when one of my sons orders by asking the waiter if he can “please have the filet mignon,” and then thanks him when it arrives (perhaps not as happy when the bill comes, but whatever…).

I’m sure all of us had hoped to model marriage-lasts-a-lifetime-behavior for our kids, too, but as we know, life doesn’t always work out as we expected. In my case, their mom and I went through a basically mutual, fairly amicable split after 27 years; though it was nice to show them how to have a civilized divorce, that still wasn’t the ideal.

There was, however, a positive to be gained from the negative. I believe going through my divorce gave me insight into why the marriage was what it was, and went where it went. I’ve come to more clearly comprehend the thoughts and choices I made, and the assumptions I held, concerning getting married. And I discovered that some of them were, shall we say, less than correct.

Change Your Mindset To Speed Divorce Recovery

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Going through a Divorce can be one of the most difficult experiences in life.

Even if you wanted your Divorce Over 50, it’s still a painful process, complete with anxiety, upset, and anger. And if you didn’t want it, it can be absolutely devastating.

But, as we say here all the time, a Divorce Over 50 may not be ideal, but it does give you a chance to hit the reset button, get back to being who you want to be, and move forward into a brighter future.  And we’ve outlined three stages of a DO50 — Survive, Revive, then Thrive — and produced our free Roadmap to serve as a guide.

That’s the easy part; the hard part is actually moving forward. You don’t just start feeling better about yourself and your situation — you need to take action to create that better future.